A lawyer had to apologize for a bizarre late-night tirade on GB News after a presenter claimed he was representing Matt Hancock following thousands of leaked WhatsApp messages sent during the pandemic.
Jonathan Coad was welcomed to the GB News debate on Sunday by host Steve N Allen, who introduced him as the lawyer representing the ex-health secretary following reports leaked by political journalist Isabel Oakeshott.
But Mr Coad – who claims to have represented royalty, senior MPs and celebrities – was left furious after the news program’s presenter told viewers that the lawyer had ‘recently been asked to act for Matt Hancock’.
“I made it absolutely clear to your program, I asked them not to disclose it. That’s very, very bad journalism,’ the enraged lawyer raged.
He added: “When your own television station has corresponded with me explaining that I am in a position to comment on this and mentioning that I have been approached by Matt Hancock – I have asked you not to mention that. and you mentioned it.
Lawyer Jonathan Coad was welcomed on GB News on Sunday night as the legal expert ‘representing’ Matt Hancock following the leak of private WhatsApp messages by journalist Isabel Oakeshott
The lawyer was furious with GB News presenter Steve N Allen for his introduction – until Mr Allen read Mr Coad’s email to show producers, writing: ‘As a courtesy to the lady who approached me to perform for MH (Matt Hancock) I would be grateful if it is mentioned that he has asked me to act for him (through his assistant).’
“If someone is tempted to take you or your education seriously, this is a good reason not to.”
But minutes after the furious diatribe, in which the lawyer also accused GB News of throwing ‘poo left, right and center’ at Mr Hancock, presenter Mr Allen read Mr Coad’s email to the show – which showed that the legal eagle is a key word.
The email read: ‘As a courtesy to the lady who approached me to perform for MH (Matt Hancock) I would be grateful if it was mentioned that he had asked me to perform for him (via his assistant) .’
As the studio audience roared hysterically at the blunder, Mr. Coad replied with a pussycat, “You’re absolutely right, it’s my fault I “didn’t” miss it – I take all that back. You’re right and I’m wrong. Frankly, I’m completely wrong there, my apologies.’
Mr Coad’s website says he is a “crisis” specialist who has “acted for numerous corporate clients, high-profile corporate executives, senior politicians… and three members of the royal family, both to protect their reputations and their to secure privacy’.
But his blunder on GB News has been viewed more than 650,000 times and has led to him being relentlessly mocked online, with one user saying, ‘Is this a joke??? I don’t know what’s real anymore!”, and a second tweeted: “You couldn’t write this kind of comedy.”
Another berated the lawyer for his mistake in a mock courtroom skit, saying, “‘How do you plead, Mr. Hancock?” “Guilty” “No! Sorry, I missed the NOT! Not guilty!”‘
Former Toy MP and secretary for international development, Rory Stewart – once a contender to become the next leader of the Conservative Party – even shared the video, tweeting, “You have to watch to the end.”
The lawyer’s blunder sparks a roar from the live audience watching Sunday night’s debate (pictured) into the leak of private messages Mr Hancock sent during the pandemic
Mr Coad quickly apologized, claiming he had missed the word ‘not’ in his email. But people soon took to social media to relentlessly mock him for the blunder
The blunder led to Mr Coad being relentlessly mocked on social media as the lawyer’s mistake was denounced by users on Twitter
In leaked WhatsApp messages, Matt Hancock described the former government’s vaccine czar as ‘totally unreliable’
Others took aim at Mr Hancock and his former boss, Boris Johnson, with one person tweeting: ‘Incredibly stupid choice of ghostwriter, ditto for the lawyer. This is the man Boris Johnson thought was best placed to make decisions about the well-being of our people in the face of a major pandemic.”
But the lawyer got credit from viewers for immediately admitting and apologizing for the mistake. “Honestly it’s refreshing for someone to hold their hands up and say ‘oops, my mistake, sorry’!” one person tweeted.
The news comes just days after more than 100,000 WhatsApp messages were leaked to the Telegraph by Isabel Oakeshott – Mr Hancock’s ghostwriter for the book Pandemic Diaries.
Ms Oakshott spent nearly a year writing the book and claimed to have reviewed “thousands upon thousands of sensitive government messages related to the pandemic”.
But the political journalist’s leak could have violated a confidentiality agreement (NDA). She has since claimed that Mr Hancock sent her ‘threatening’ messages in the early hours after the messages were released.
Isabel Oakeshott, who has described lockdowns as an ‘unmitigated disaster’, said she released the messages because it would be ‘many years’ before the official Covid investigation ends, which she claimed could be a ‘colossal whitewash’
In a message on April 14, Mr. Hancock that Sir Chris finished an assessment and recommended ‘testing of everyone going into care homes, and segregation pending outcome’. Mr Hancock described it as ‘obviously a good positive move’. However, the inquiry said he later responded to an aide: “Tell me if I’m wrong, but I’d rather leave it out and just commit to testing and isolating ALL who go into care from the hospital.” I don’t think the community’s efforts add anything and cloud the water’
Sir Chris Whitty (left) told then health secretary Matt Hancock (right) there should be testing for ‘all who go into care homes’
Speaking to Good Morning Britain last week: ‘I really think this whole menacing message is a bit exaggerated. I’m not scared or intimidated. It just said at 1:20 AM, “You made a big mistake.”
‘You can’t really interpret that other than as a threat.
“Since then, he’s made even more threats of legal action and so on, but I’m not worried about that. I don’t let that intimidate or upset me. This is much more important than those considerations.’
Mr Hancock – who appeared last year on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! – admitted to telling the journalist that she had made a “big mistake” in passing on the private messages to a newspaper.
But he denied that his message had been threatening and accused her of “massive betrayal and breach of trust.”
He argued: “There is absolutely no public interest case for this massive breach,” emphasizing that the “material for his book” had already been sent to the official Covid inquiry.
